Antipasti Chicken

One of the things I like to do before going back to work for a few nights is cook something in the morning before I lay down for a nap in the afternoon. This way I have something yummy to eat for dinner when I get up and to bring to work with me later. The only thing open in the hospital when I like to go on my break around 0300 is Subway, which is fine here and there, but I like to bring my own food. 

This morning I opted to tackle yet another Giada recipe, Antipasti Chicken. Antipasti translates to "before the meal" and is usually the first course in an Italian meal. Typical items served include prosciutto, salami, cheese, and olives, among other things. These are also seen on many a charcuterie board and delicious when paired with wine! 

A lot of ingredients for this dish are things that you may already have in the house but there are a few outliers. You will need:

Dressing

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground fennel seed

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 cup of EVOO

Chicken

6 slices of Genoa salami (2 ounces), chopped

4 thin slices of prosciutto, chopped

4 slices of provolone cheese, chopped

4 large pepperoncini, stemmed, chopped

4 oil-packed sundried tomato halves, chopped

 4 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

To start, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

While the oven is preheating, whisk all of the ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl with the exception of the EVOO. Once blended, slowly whisk in the olive oil, then set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine the salami, prosciutto, provolone cheese, pepperoncini, and tomatoes and drizzle with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Mix well. As a side note, I taste tested the pepperoncini before adding too many and good thing because they're pretty spicy. Just something to be mindful of if you don't like too much heat. 

Time to stuff the chicken. Slice your chicken breasts in half so that they open like a book but are not sliced all the way through. Layer and pack the filling on one side, then pull the other side of the chicken over to cover. Tie with kitchen twine at the top, middle, and bottom and stuff any filling that comes out back in. 

This is the part in the recipe where I started to struggle. Only two of my chicken breasts came out looking nice and neat and the rest had a sort of mangled appearance. Not every chicken breast likes to cut nicely! Fortunately the twine helps to hold it all in. 

Lay all of your stuffed chicken breasts on the baking sheet and drizzle with more of the sauce. Bake for about 20 minutes, then once done cut the twine and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. 

So this is what Giada depicts on her website as the finished product:

Photo courtesy of Google Images

And this is mine:

Basically not even close! Haha. But I did taste test it and the flavor is still there! So that's really all that matters right? Anyone have any tips for stuffing chicken so it turns out more like Giada's? 

Crab-Stuffed Avocados

Last week the gorgeous weather had me in such a good mood that I splurged a little bit on some jumbo lump crabmeat to make a dish that I've had saved on my Pinterest for a while but was waiting to make until it fit with the season. It's just too weird to eat crab stuffed avocados in the dead of winter!

My mother being the New Englander and seafood lover that she is was naturally excited when I called after walking around Centennial Lake to say don't make anything for dinner, I've got it covered.

To start, dice 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 a green bell pepper, 1/2 a red bell pepper, and 1/2 a cucumber. The recipe also called for radishes, which I bought, but ended up leaving out because they didn't seem quite right.

Mix the cooked crabmeat with the vegetables and the juice of two limes, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Cut the avocados in half. The recipe recommends you peel the avocados prior to serving but I chose to leave the skin on. Fill the avocado halves with the crabmeat mixture and top with some chopped chives. That's it!

This dish is so easy to prepare and it made tons of leftovers, which my mom chose to use to top some baked chicken the next night. My father and his notoriously picky self also really liked the filling though he skipped the avocado.

Starting Over

The blog has been on a major hiatus while I settle into my new life and get used to my new(ish) kitchen. Over the last few days though I have really felt like and had the time to start cooking again and I can't wait to share everything I'm making with you all! I'm still missing quite a few of my favorite kitchen gadgets, especially my chef's knife (makes me want to cry! haha), but I'm pushing through!

I'm trying to make a conscious effort to eat as healthy as possible so I've been making lots of my favorite healthy food items, which largely consists of seafood. Lots of good proteins and hardly any fat! My mother however is not helping by making this decadent and delicious seafood lasagna that was taunting me every time I opened the fridge. Seriously so good. I also may have eaten a St. Patrick's Day cupcake for breakfast. Nobody's perfect.

Last night before I headed off to work for a trauma documentation class I made Giada's Broiled Tilapia with Mustard-Chive Sauce. This took me about 5 minutes and was really, really good.

To start, set the broiler on HI and let it preheat. Grease a baking dish with cooking spray, season how ever many tilapia filets you like with olive oil and salt and pepper and broil for about 6-8 minutes.

While your fish is cooking mix a 1/4 cup of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 2 teaspoons of honey in a medium bowl. Stir until smooth, then add in 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of chives, salt and pepper, and whisk, It should be slightly runny but not too watery.

Drizzle the sauce over the fish and serve! The sauce would also be great over chicken if you don't like seafood.